Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families

Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families

Washington D.C. - Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan announced today that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along the southern border—likely resulting in the criminalization of asylum seekers and more family separation.

The following is a statement from Beth Werlin, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council:

“Forcibly separating minor children from their parents is unconscionable. This policy could mean that even if a family is seeking asylum, parents can be criminally prosecuted, and their children will be taken away from them, to be placed in a shelter where they face deportation proceedings alone. The United States should instead honor its legacy of providing safety to those fleeing violence and its commitment to family unity.

"A policy that prosecutes parents and separates families to send a message to others is cruel and un-American.”